The increase follows a decline earlier in February that cut the number of homeowners in forbearance plans to less than 2.7 million, the first dip below that threshold since April 2020.

New home listings nationwide fell 17% from last year, while median home sale prices are up 15%, according to a recent Redfin report.  

The all-time high for January comes as limited supply cut pending transactions on a monthly basis, the association said.

The median sales price in the first month of 2021 was up 11.8% from January 2020 to $285,000, nearly matching the record high of $290,000 set last August.

In Chicago, 31.9% of Redfin offers faced bidding wars in January compared to 26.3% in December 2020.

After declining for years, the size of new single-family homes has begun to level off as consumers spend more time at home, a National Association of Home Builders analysis found.

In Chicago, 4.4% of last year’s Redfin searches were for homes priced higher than $1 million.

A new report from Redfin shows how inventory shortages are driving a chain reaction that includes accelerating home prices, unprecedented competition and surprisingly, the suppression of much-needed new listings.

The website, which notes that housing costs take up about one third of average spending for households, configured data by assessing the median home value and mortgage payment to show the minimum level of income necessary.

“In the final months of 2020, single-family rents posted the highest increases in over four years,” said Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic. “However, single-family rent price reaction to the pandemic and resulting recession differed greatly across metros.”

Zillow’s national figures showed high demand for housing in urban areas helping values in cities keep pace with those in the suburbs.

The report added that vacation homes and affordable homes in small towns near major urban centers were in strong demand as a result of the pandemic.

“The consistent decline in serious delinquency since August is a sign of growing financial stability for families,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic.

The trend of purchasing a second home has sent home prices in seasonal towns skyrocketing in value by 19% for the year ending December 2020.

Welcome to our Top Producers/Real Data issue, which highlights those who made waves in the 2020 Chicagoland market.

The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating migration across the country, following moving patterns that began in prior years, according to a new report.